Woodside’s La Boom shifts from indoor dancing to outdoor dining
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La Boom in Woodside now features outdoor dining. Photo courtesy La Boom
By David Brand
Hundreds of giddy progressives crammed the dance floor at Woodside’s La Boom on June 25, 2019 to celebrate an election night lead for Queens District Attorney candidate Tiffany Cabán. Leftist luminaries crowded the stage that night, standing shoulder to shoulder and cheering along with voters and organizers gathered at one of the borough’s biggest venues.
A year later, the once-bustling La Boom was closed; a temporary casualty of the COVID crisis that has forced its owner and staff to answer an existential question: How does one of New York City’s most popular Latin clubs adapt to a ban on indoor partying?
The response, said manager Ozzy Marcelino, was to shift the club’s focus from dancing to dining.
La Boom tapped the executive chef from its partner restaurant in Manhattan, Cantina Rooftop’s Saul Montiel, to provide lounge-style brunch and dinner outside.
“We definitely had to change the ball on how we do business,” Marcelino said. “We thought, ‘Well, we have Cantina Rooftop in the city,’ so we basically did an integration — we pulled the chef’s whole menu and his team.”
Forty tables along the sidewalk can accommodate more than 100 guests. DJs spin records while servers carry plates of wings, sliders and quesadillas. La Boom also features theme days, including soccer Sundays, where brunch guests can catch the European leagues on an outdoor screen.
Marcelino recommends that groups order a sampler platter and relax with Don Julio Skull Margarita, a new signature drink served in a souvenir mug.
La Boom’s current model has allowed owner Pedro Zamora to bring some employees back from furlough and to begin generating some revenue, but the 150-200 weekend customers are a sharp drop from the club’s pre-COVID crowd.
“You’re talking about a Saturday, the busiest night, we probably did over 1,000 people,” Marcelino said. “It was a whole different game. People were celebrating birthdays, buying bottles.”
From Monday to Thursday, La Boom features two cooks, one bartender, one busboy and one runner. “A bare minimum staff,” Marcelino said.
Things pick up on Friday and Saturdays, when the club staffs three cooks, two or three bartenders, six servers, two busboys and two runners.
That’s still about a quarter of the usual staff, Marcelino said. Not to mention the 15 or so security guards who kept and eye on things inside club each night.
Since reopening, La Boom has trained each of their employees in proper sanitation methods. Staff wear masks and gloves and maintain social distancing during their shifts. So far, none have gotten COVID-19, Marcelino said.
Marcelino said he hopes the city and state will allow New York City restaurants to resume indoor dining, especially as the weather gets colder.
“We’re all just waiting to see what’s up with indoor dining,” he said. “Even with 25 to 50 percent, that’s going to be huge. You can cover your costs and have staff work and at least make due in the winter.”
Without indoor dining, La Boom employees could face grim circumstances in coming months.
“We tell our staff, ‘Hey guys, we want to be really, really, really transparent. Save your money, because we can’t promise you guys are going to have work in the winter,” Marcelino said.
